Extra sockets and USB points

The short answer

Adding a socket spur off an existing ring is short work for a registered electrician; a new dedicated circuit is a bigger job. In Scotland the work must meet BS 7671, and the electrician issues a certificate. Costs are driven almost entirely by how the cable is run and how much making good is needed afterwards.

What the work involves

Confirming the existing circuit can take the addition, running cable in trunking, in the void or chased into the wall, fitting the accessory, then testing and certificating.

Rules and responsibilities in Scotland

Additions to existing circuits must comply with the building standards; some work is notifiable. Cables buried in walls must be in permitted zones or mechanically protected.

What commonly goes wrong

Long-term reliance on extension leads and multi-way adaptors, which is a genuine fire risk in older properties.

What it usually costs

Indicative ranges only, to help you judge a quote. They are not an estimate for your property — only the business doing the work can give you that.

• A spur close to an existing socket is a fraction of the cost of a new circuit.
• Chasing into solid stone or lath-and-plaster costs more than a surface run.
• Making good and redecoration is a separate trade — plan it in.

What to do, in order

1. 1Mark exactly where you want each socket.
2. 2Ask the electrician which are spurs and which need a new circuit.
3. 3Agree how cables will be run and who makes good.
4. 4Do all the additions in one visit.
5. 5File the certificate with the property record.

Local detail for the Lothians

• Solid stone walls and lath-and-plaster in Edinburgh tenements usually favour surface trunking or a skirting run.
• Period cornicing limits where cable can be dropped.
• Older Lothians consumer units may need upgrading before circuits are extended.

When you need a professional

Always use a registered electrician; an EICR is worth having first if the installation is more than about 25 years old.

Common questions

Is adding a socket notifiable work in Scotland?

Some electrical work requires a building warrant and some does not. A registered electrician will tell you which applies and issue the certificate.

How disruptive is it?

Surface runs are quick and clean. Chasing into stone is dusty and needs plastering and painting afterwards.

Related pages

• Light fittings and switches

  Swapping a pendant, fitting a dimmer or replacing a cracked switch plate.

• Wall patching and making good

  Filling cracks, holes and old fixing points so a room is ready to paint.

• Repainting a single room

  One room repainted properly, in a day or two, without repainting the whole property.